2007: An Improv Odyssey: Part Two: The Wrath of Khan

Before I begin the epic conclusion of our improv odyssey, I would just like to announce that from now on, things are going to be a little more consistent around here. Blog updates will be posted every week on Wednesdays and Fridays. So, if you were having problems scheduling blog-perusing times, hopefully this will help.

Now, onto the exciting conclusion! Faithful readers will remember that the final event of the weekend was the actual competition. Here's how it went down. Two teams would be called onto the stage, and one would challenge the other to a game. The challengers had three minutes to play the game, and then the challenged took a stab at it. The judges (Eric Davis, who did the workshop, and Scott Brison, MP) would pick the best, and give them a point. As you might expect, the team with the most points walks away victorious.

Now, I'll admit it, my memory of the proceedings is a tad foggy, so I'll just give you the highlights of the evening's entertainment.

- Scott Brison, Member of Parliament for Kings-Hants, Nova Scotia, as an improv judge, was a bizarre and beautiful thing to witness. He offered punny advice to the teams as they were judged; nuggets of advice like "in the world of the blind, the one eyed man is king" after a game where someone ended up blind. My favorite moment, though, was the response to a skit where a man accidentally (and repeatedly) ran over his son with a lawn mower. He said something to the extent of, "I don't see why the father couldn't just accept his son's sexual orientation." Odd, yes, but definitely funny. I hope he comes back to judge another year.

- Whilst on the subject of judges, they decided to institute a penalty system. If you're too rude onstage, or if you break an improv rule, you'll get a penalty. Some penalties included; presenting your scene through dance, being silent for the scene, or portraying a Disney character.

- Now, onto the games themselves. I'll be frank, the games we played didn't really have too many bloggable moments. Until, that is, the final game. A game we had never played, entitled "Family Sitcom." Basically, it takes the situation from a sitcom like "Full House," only each character has an unusual trait. For this game, Dan and Randy - the two oldest members of the team - both smelled really bad (not really, just in the game). Justin (improv enthusiast with the uncanny ability to...well, you'll see) was given the task of impersonating a character from Disney's Aladdin. I was told to express myself by singing Abba, and Luke...well, I kind of forget. Sorry man. Anyhoo...the scene begins. I warble the choruses of "Dancing Queen," "Waterloo," and "Fernando" while Dan and Randy go around smelling bad and Luke...does his...thing. All in all, it's a pretty good scene. Then, Justin comes on, and proceeds to recite the whole opening scene from Aladdin - you know, the one where the merchant of Agrabah sets up the story? Yeah, that one. Word for word. And that's how we won the hearts of the Aladdin fans in the audience.

Well, the time came to tally up the votes, and lo and behold, SUSHI wins! We get a nifty wooden trophy with a plastic sword driven through it, and we are free to celebrate with our fellow improvisers. The celebrations include pool, shuffleboard, loud music and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (my triumph for the weekend was remembering the level select code - simply go to the sound test screen and select 19, 65, 9, 17, then hit start, hold down A and start a new game).

After a night of celebrating, we awoke and said goodbye to Wolfville in style - by rolling down the car windows and blasting "The Final Countdown" while rocking out in unison. An epic end to an epic weekend.

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek at one of Mount A's underappreciated activities. When you come here, give SUSHI a shot, or just come out to a show.

'Til Friday, keep fit and have fun!